DYCD details SYEP scale, borough allocations and selection questions for Bronx leaders

Alexander Bettencourt, a representative of the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, told Bronx Community Board 1 that the Summer Youth Employment Program is one of the city’s largest youth workforce investments and serves about 100,000 participants annually across tracks including Ladders for Leaders and career‑ready placements.

"The 1 program that we have that is most critical for summer is our summer youth employment initiative," Bettencourt said, noting the program typically develops roughly 12,000 worksites and that placements are split across private, nonprofit and public sectors. He provided topline figures during the presentation: about 43% of placements have been in the private sector, roughly 38% with nonprofits and about 19% in public sector worksites; Bettencourt also said 15% of participants are NYCHA residents.

Bettencourt emphasized SYEP’s nonplacement components, including financial literacy, orientation and connections between school‑year learning and summer jobs: "We are aware of the struggles and some of the challenges that our young people face…We create a space for them that allows them to self express and self identify and self affirm," he said.

District managers pressed for borough‑level breakdowns and details on how participants are selected. Anthony Jordan, district manager for Bronx Community Board 1, asked whether the lottery is blind and what selection criteria the system uses; Bettencourt declined a blanket explanation, instead asking the board to submit names of particular applicants who had been repeatedly passed over and promising to look into those individual cases and provide an informed response.

On funding, Bettencourt said SYEP financing is a mix of federal, state and local dollars and that private funding is very limited; he said the department is exploring ways to diversify revenue streams and to measure the value of investment in young people to potential philanthropic partners. He also said the department issues a yearly report with placement data and that the agency can produce borough‑level breakdowns when the data are compiled.

Next steps: DYCD encouraged board staff and district managers to forward specific applicant names for follow‑up questions about selection, and Bettencourt said the agency will continue to refine provider partnerships and explore new funding avenues to expand slots.